The Games
by Illos-Enim-Moriar
Summary: I stand as the first tribute, but there are twenty-three left to be chosen, to be pitted against each other. We are the first of what will be many. We are what the Capitol will use to make sure that what District Thirteen did will never happen ever again.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games**

**The Games**

_The Hunger Games. They should have never been started, but, they where. _

_I stand as the first tribute, but there are twenty-three left to be chosen, to be pitted against each other. We are the first of what will be many. We are what the Capitol will use to make sure that what District Thirteen did will never happen ever again. _

_This, this is the first Reaping. And my feeling is that it will not be the last. _

**Chapter One**

District One~

_Breathe; nothing is going to happen to you. Breathe Alanna, just breath. You aren't going to be picked. Just, breathe. _

My name is Alanna Spark, I am fifteen. It's been three years since District Thirteen was destroyed and the rebellion was obliterated. Three years for the Capitol to come up with a good way to punish the people of Panem for their parts in the rebellion. They call it _The Hunger Games, _and I am scared to find out why.

I can tell by the people moving in the streets that they are waiting for the next shoe to drop, it was dead silent. Just like it had been since the Capitol made the announcement that two children from each of the remaining Districts where going to be picked, ages 12 to 18. I looked down at the streets through our large window; my heart was thudding in my chest as I waited for my mother and older brother to come out. My father was sitting at the large desk reading something; I have long since stopped caring about what he brings home from the Capitol. I hate him, I hate the Capitol and I hate the people that came up with this idea to send 24 children to…to, what ever they had planned. It was worse for the children between the ages that the Capitol asked for; we didn't know what was going to be asked of us. All that we knew was that it was punishment for what the rebellion caused. My hands were clenched in fistfuls of my light blue dress, I was scared. I could be the one to go up there, that what would happen to me? Would they put me to death in the middle of the square or would they wait in till we were out of the public eyes and than film it so that all the Districts can see? I didn't know, and that's what scared me the most. The not knowing.

"Alanna," my mother was standing in the door way, looking at me with worried eyes; I seem to be worrying her a lot lately. I sigh as I turn and face her, I try and force a smile on my face, but I think that I failed at that attempt. I look at her closely, people say that we look like each other, and I have to agree with them. My mother has blond ringlets, a pale face, slight frame, full red lips, and bright blue eyes that had a hint of green in them. The only thing that is slightly different is our eyes. Her's are blue and green and mine, are cobalt blue. No other color mixed in, but other than that we look too much alike that it's scary some times.

"Let's do your hair…" she spoke softly as to not disturb my father from his reading. I looked out the window once again and watched people walking about. Than I turned and walked out of the room, I garbed my mothers hand as I walked past and I held on to it tight.

Because, we were all waiting for the other shoe to drop.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

My mother did my hair up with a lot of pins and she left one long strand, that formed a perfect ringlet around one side of my face, and according to her made me look more feminine. I looked at myself in the mirror and wanted to scream. Here we were, about to face something horrible and we had to look more _feminine. _Something had to be wrong with us, if we wanted to look more _feminine_ of more _handsome_ before we face something that could change everything that we know and that we love. But instead I offered her a small smile as I met her eyes in the mirror. She placed her hands on my shoulders and than hugged me tight.

"Nothing's going to happen to you. To you or your brother, everything will be okay." She whispered urgently into my ear, I wonder if it was more for me or for her. I couldn't tell, it seemed like she wanted to say it to make it real, because she didn't know for a fact that what ever was going to happen wasn't going to happen to me or to my brother.

"I know." I whispered back more for her benefit than for mine, because I had a feeling that everything was _not_ going to be okay. I smiled again when my brother walked into the bedroom, and after him our father. They where both wearing matching light blue shirts that buttoned up and white pants, with matching white shoes. My brother stopped and looked at me as I turned around in the seat and looked at the two of them.

"You look good." My father mumbled that before motioning to my mother to come and talk to him about something, they left the room quickly after my mother pressing a quick kiss to my head. She was worried just like everyone else, and she wasn't hiding it as good as she though.

"Hey," I spoke in a soft voice as I looked at my older brother, one more year and he would have escaped this, he would be free of the fear that seemed to be gripping me, and seemed to be gripping him as well.

"Hey munchkin, how you doing?" he crossed his arms and looked down at me, during the war he took care of me, made sure that I had something to eat that I was protected if an air raid happened and most of all he was always there for me when I needed someone to cry on, or to just hold me. And he still looks after me, but I think now he just does it because it was a routine for him and our parents are the best, so he still does it.

"I'm scared, what do you think that they have planned for the two kids that get called up there Nick?" I asked looking at him closely, my wide eyes taking in everything. Like how he stiffened when asked him the question, how his hands clenched quickly as if he where trying to control some anger that was just below the surface and was ready to explode at anytime, and than how he ran one hand through his short brown hair, like he always does when he doesn't know how to answer a question or how to do something. And than I watched his face, as if two people where fighting in side of him, battling to answer my question; one side not knowing how to answer it and the other, having some clue but not knowing if he should answer it. He was saved from answering that question, and when he was he looked slightly relieved, and for that I had to smile a little.

But what saved him, made my smile disappear faster than anything.

Our father had walked back into the room and he was looking at the both of us, than he said the next two words that changed the mood of both Nick and I.

"It's time." He ran one of his hands through his hair, like I have seen Nick do a thousand times, "We have to go to the Square."

I stood up and shuffled over to where Nick was at and took his hand in mine, he looked down at me and than gripped my hand just as tight as I was gripping his. Than, we walked out of the room and joined our mother and than walked out of the house, we were a family. Worried just like the rest of them, not knowing what was going to happen, but we were ready to face it.

Together.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

We walked to the square, it was quite large, and it held out Justice Hall a fountain and right about now, almost every person that is in District One. We filed into the square, and that's when we got split apart. My mother and father where put into a different section and Nick and I where put into two lines, one for the boys, and the other for the girls. I looked around franticly trying to make sure that I could see Nick and my mom and at all times. I got to the front of the line and a Peacekeeper asked me for my name, my age, and for my hand. Which got quickly pricked and the blood that rushed out got placed on a card. Than they walked me to where all the girls where standing and they expected me into the group quickly, we where all in this together, and they knew what I was feeling just like I knew what they where feeling. That made us closer to each other.

I looked around once again trying to find Nick, when I found him he was standing in the center of the group of boys talking to them, making them laugh. I don't know what he was saying but the boys that where around him started to crack up and smile, it relieved some of the tension that was filling the large square. I looked around me at the faces of the girls, some looked underfeed and some looked like they where too pampered. Than there where other's who seemed to be doing the same thing that I was, looking around and judging how everyone was feeling and reacting to this, when I saw another girl watching me I just gave a brief nod at her and than went to staring at the large platform that our mayor used for speeches. In the center of the stage where two large glass balls, that held scraps of paper. I must have looked puzzled because a girl that was standing next to me spoke.

"They hold all of our names. Guess they don't want the citizen's feeling like it's rigged or something." She said with a small shrug, she turned and looked at me and I guessed that she was about my age,.

"I'm Gem." She held out her hand and waited for me to take it, I don't know what made her want to talk to me or what made her want to tell me her name, but I was grateful that she did talk to me. That she made me feel like I wasn't completely alone in the large crowd of girls. I didn't have friends, so I didn't have someone that I could talk to other than Nick, and he was a little to far away from me to have a conversation with. I looked at Gem, before taking her hand in mine with a small smile.

"Alanna, it's nice to meet you Gem." I smiled at her before taking back my hand and turning back to the stage, "What do you think that they are planning to do to the two that get called?" I asked without turning and looking at her.

"I don't know, but I have a feeling that we are just about to find out." She pointed at the woman that walked out onto the stage, we could all tell the moment that she stepped onto the stage that she was from the Capitol, some people clapped, but most of us just stayed silent as we waited for the woman to start talking.

"My name is Annie Trinket, and I am here to pick out two very lucky people." Her voice was high and pitchy and rather annoying to have to listen to, and she seemed way to happy about what she was here to do.

"These two people will have the chance to participate in the Hunger Games!" she looked even more excited when she gave a name to what we where all afraid of. The Hunger Games, we looked at her with a range of expressions, some blank, others angry, others were ones of fear. The square was silent as we stood and waited. Our silence seemed to unnerve her a little bit, and I can't help but feel a little satisfied about that.

She took a deep breath before she continued, and when she did her voice was even higher and more annoying than when she first started to talk. I think that the people in the Capitol find talking like that to be fancy, but I don't think they know that it's rather annoying.

"The Hunger Games will pit the other Districts against each other. Two tributes from each District will be chosen to fight for you, but,'' at this Annie Trinket pauses and looks at each of us, "But, there can only be one winner." When she said that, I realized what their plan was. They were going to make _kids_ fight other _kids_ from the other Districts, just to prove that they have all of the power, to prove that they can do anything to us that they want. They were going to make us kill each other.

That was there sick and twisted plan to get back at the Districts.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

I looked over at my brother and I saw the same look mirrored on his face that was on every other person's face. We all looked horrified and it was something that I would never forget, that awful feeling, and that dead silence that fell over all of us. You could hear the beat of everyone's heart, and it seemed to me that they were beating all at the same time, we were all one in that moment.

Annie Trinket looked around at all of us and than with as much of a smile as she could muster spoke into the microphone.

"[i]May the odds be ever in your favor!"[/i] she clapped her hands and than walked to one of the globes that were filled with paper.

"Ladies first, of course." She nodded at she spoke and than she reached inside of the globe and engulfed half of her arm in it and she rustled it around for a little while, and we could hear each movement that she made in the paper, and with each noise we became a little bit more agitated, each movement brought one of us closer to our doom. I was praying that it wasn't going to be me, or that girl standing a few feet in front of me, or Gem who only shared a few minutes with me but I would feel bad if she was the one taken, or that little girl that looked to be about twelve exactly, I would feel bad if any of them where taken.

She raised her hand with that small piece of paper in-between two of her fingers, a huge grin on her face as she waddled back to the podium. She unfolded it and looked at the writing for a few seconds, and than she raised her head and started to speak, "The first female tribute from District One is going to be….." she stopped, and we all leaned forward just a bit, and something in my stomach tightened, it already knew who's name it was going to be.

"ALANNA SPARK!" hearing my name announced almost brought me to my knees, everything in my body wanted to turn and run away as fast as I could, and at the same time I wanted to stand in that spot and pretend that the name that she had just called wasn't mine, that it was a mistake. This was wrong, I couldn't seem to get my legs, or arms or anything to work. I stood there, my mouth had dropped open and I was just looking up at that woman that had just changed my whole life in the space of thirty seconds.

I turned and looked all around me, and I noticed that all the girls had taken a step away from me, like I was a disease, something that they shouldn't be near. I looked over at Gem, the only person to stay by me, she tried to smile at me but, it came out more of a grimace than a smile. She gently nudge me forward and I stumbled toward the stage where Annie Trinket stood waiting, beckoning at me, smiling that annoying smile. I stopped and stood up straight and than I raised my chin slightly and started to walk forward towards my death. That's how I saw the Hunger Games; they were going to be my death.

I was going to die. I could feel it all the way to my toes.

Death was just a step away from me.

And I took it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

I took that first step towards the podium with my head held high; I was counting in my head trying to keep from breaking down and crying right in the middle of everyone.

"Alanna!" I heard Nick yell my name but I didn't turn around, I didn't make a move towards the safety that I knew he would try and provide, I didn't turn and run. I kept walking even when I heard him scream my name again, and not even when I heard people holding him back from coming to me. If I had, I don't think that I would have been able to make it if I had seem the look on his face, or if I had looked for my mother and father and saw everyone else looking at me. I don't think I would have made it.

I kept getting closer and closer to the steps that would lead me to the woman who was going to be sending me to my death, I started to count how many more steps it would be till I reached the steps that lead to the stage, three.

Two.

One.

I had reached them and this is where I faltered a little, I had to take a deep breath and than I climbed them and let Annie Trinket lead me to the left side of where she was standing at the podium. Than she went over to the second globe and started to fish around for that little piece of paper that would lead a boy to his death, that would lead some one else up here to stand next to me. I wasn't paying attention to her or anything that was in the square, I was looking straight ahead and trying to block out everything else, but I could feel the tears streaming down my face as I stood there looking out, but not really seeing.

I heard Annie call out the boys name and, I could see the handsome young man that looked to be the same age or a little younger than my brother walk through the crowd of people, take the same journey that I had just a few moments ago. I didn't recognize him, and I didn't even catch his name. It didn't really matter to me anyway, I knew that he was going to try and kill me anyway, just like everyone else in the Games would try and do. No one wanted to die, I just already knew that that was going to be my fate. I was going to die by the person standing next to me, or someone else that I didn't know.

It didn't really matter to me either way. I was just whishing that my name hadn't been the one to be called, that I wasn't up here. I wanted to be weak and run away, run as far and as fast as I could. Run in till I had nothing left inside of me, in till I was far enough away that I wouldn't have to face the fact that I was in the horrid Hunger Games.

Annie said some more, but I didn't pay attention to her either, not in till she repeated something that she had said before pulling my name out of the globe.

[i]"May the odds be ever in your favor![/i]"

The odds where definitely not in my favor, nor in any of the other people that had gotten called today. We where escorted off of the stage by a group of Peacekeepers, they surrounded up like a wall, keeping up enclosed and with no chance to escape. Not like we would get that far anyway, I had a feeling that no one would really help us, even if we did make it far enough to escape. Trinket followed behind our group, and we where lead in to the Justice Building. We where taken to separate rooms, that where rather nice, but I didn't really pay anymore attention to the room other then to make a note that they put us up in a nice room.

A nice room for something that was going to be painful.

This was the room to say goodbye.

It was death.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

They came in to the room slowly, one by one my family walked in. They looked somber, and it looked like my mother and father had been crying before they walked into the room. Nick was the only of to manage a smile for me, not like it helped because the minute that they walked into the room I broke down. I feel to my knees and started to sob, tears where streaming down my face and when I looked at them, they were blurry, and out of focus. My mother fell down to her knees in front of me and gathered me into her arm, my father just stood there watching the scene take place in front of him.

"Shh, it's going to be okay. Shh baby girl, your going to be fine…" my mother was speaking so softly into my ear, as I sobbed and cried my heart out. "Shhhh~. Don't cry baby girl, don't cry." We started to rock back and fourth, my mom holding me, my brother and father silent as they waited for this to pass. It took a while for me to calm down, but I did. Nick handed me a tissue and I quickly dried my face, I didn't want to spend my whole good bye crying.

I wanted to say something to them, anything that would help them prepare for the fact that I was going to die, but I had no words to help them. I had nothing to give them, no solace and no hope. I looked at them with wide, fearful eyes and despair. I looked at Nick and he seemed to know what I needed at the moment, he opened his arms and I flew into him and the safety that I was going to miss, the safety that I had always needed, that he had always freely giving.

"Hey munchkin, why you so worried? Your going to win and come home to us. You should know that already, you have to win and come home to us. Promise me, that you will come home, that you are going to win." Nick closed his eyes tightly as he held me even tighter, I buried my face in his chest and I knew that I couldn't promise him that, I couldn't. False hope was worse than no hope. I knew that much at my tender age of fifteen. I took in a deep, ragged breath.

"I can't promise you that Nick. I can't." I whispered brokenly into his chest, it was a little muffled but they all heard what I had said, that I couldn't promise that I was going to come home. I couldn't promise them anything.

Nick's arms dropped away from me, he quickly kissed me on the forehead and whispered a quick, 'I love you', and than he walked out, he left me. He took the one thing that I needed at that moment and left. I felt like breaking down all over again. But I knew that I couldn't be upset about him leaving, if I could leave I would. If I could have made that promise I would have. But I couldn't do that.

My father placed a hand on my shoulder and than my mother placed an arm around my lower back and held me. We stood like that in till the Peacekeepers came and took them away. My father had to carry my mother out, she wouldn't leave the room other wise. I sat heavily on the floor and just looked at the door blankly.

Everything was different. Everything had changed and I didn't know if I was ready to face it or not. Maybe I was, maybe I wasn't. I just knew that I didn't want to. I was thinking about Nick leaving when the door was pushed open yet again, this time it was someone that I never thought I would talk to.

In the doorway stood the Mayor of District One.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

He walked into the room and closed the door behind him softly, he stood there for a second and than he ventured further into the room. He stopped when he was standing right in front of me. Than he stood there and was silent, I didn't say anything to him, I really didn't know what I should say. Or if I wanted to talk to him, I just wanted to know why he was here.

He cleared his throat and than reached out a hand to help me up on to my feet, I took it tentatively and let him help me up, I brushed out the wrinkles in my dress and I stood there looking at him.

"So Alanna, I wanted to give you and the boy something." He said as he pulled something out of his pocket, it was a ring. It looked really plain in till you looked at it really closely, it was shiny and it looked like it had tiny little gems set into it, and engraved into the inside of the band was [i] District One [/i] and than on the outside it said, [i] Hope is eternal.[/i] he held it out to me, and I took it gently.

He cleared his throat again, "I think that they will let you keep that, and if not, at least you know that you had something from us. Something to remember us." He looked at me, and I looked at him and than I gathered my courage and spoke to him.

"Thank you, this, this is really nice. And…" I took a step towards him and quickly hugged him, he was surprised I think, but in a good way. I took a step back after a few seconds, "Um, you should probably leave before they have to drag you out too." I tried to make a lame attempt at a joke but I think that I didn't do such a good job at it.

The Mayor smiled at me, and it looked like he wanted to say something more, but he thought better of it and retreated out of the room.

I looked down at the ring that was in my hand, "Hope is eternal." I spoke softly to myself as I slipped the ring on to my finger; I stood up straight and than smiled.

Hope was eternal.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight **

I stood looking out the window for a long time, I was waiting for them to come and take me away. Take me to where ever the Games where going to be held. And it seemed to me that I had been waiting for everything lately and it was driving me crazy. I needed some thing to hold on to, the ring that the Mayor had giving me was starting to turn into the rope that held me onto the Earth. Held me steady.

I turned when I heard the door creek open once again, I turned and looked at the three Peacekeepers that had walked into the room, guns held in there hands, I wanted to smile. They needed to carry guns to follow around a fifteen year old. It was rather sad that they thought that we were going to run. Where would we go? Who would we go to? Everyone was afraid of the Capitol, they had good reason to be, they wouldn't hide us, and we wouldn't get that far anyway.

I wanted to laugh at them, but I doubted that it would put me in a better position with them. I stared at them with my wide eyes and waited for them to speak.

One of them cleared his throat and than in a gruff voice talked [i]at[/i] me, "It's time to go. Move." I looked around the room, I was scared to walk out, I was scared to leave what I knew behind. I was so scared that I stood rooted to that spot and looking around the room.

This was my home. My life.

This was my [i]everything[/i] and they were going to be taking me away from it.

I started to wring my hands together and I looked at them. I knew that if I walked out that door, I would die. I would never see this again. I would never see the people that I loved again. But I also knew that if I didn't walk out that door, they would either one; shoot me, or two; carry me out kicking and screaming.

I didn't like either of the options that where being presented to me, and I was going to have to face the fact that I would never come back. And if by some major twist of fate and I did come back.

Well I wouldn't be the same.

I wouldn't be me.

I closed my eyes and started to slowly count, in till my heart rate and breathing was down. And when I opened them again, I walked past them, never looking at them. As I walked out, I saw him. The [i]other[/i] one. He glanced over at me and our eyes caught, his eyes where full of sadness and fear. And it almost brought me down to my knees, I looked away from him and started to look at the ground.

I couldn't think about him, or the fact that he might be going through the same thing that I was going through. I couldn't think about that, that would give us something in common with each other.

And that….

That would be [i]very[/i],

Bad.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

{So this chapter is going to be a bit different than the other's, it going to be taking place from the other tributes point of view and it's going to take off from Chapter Three, and go through a little of Chapter Four, and Five. I hope that you guys enjoy it. And if not, than I know not to do it like this again.}

My name is Easton Carter, and I am seventeen years old.

I was standing in the crowd of boys, listen to one of them crack jokes about the Peacekeepers and the other people that came from the Capitol. My hands where in my pockets and I was standing with my legs slightly apart and relaxed. I didn't know what was coming, but I knew that what ever it was going to be couldn't be that bad.

I didn't know that it was going to be worse.

I looked around the boys, silently seizing them up, than my eyes traveled to the girls, they where all tightly packed together. It didn't look like they where talking, they all where looking at the stage, expect two of them. I looked closer at the two girls and watched as they talked. The blond one kept glancing at the other girls and than over at the boys group. That's what caught my attention, she didn't really appear like the others, she was looking at everything. Taking it in.

Watching. Waiting.

I looked away from her and looked up at the stage, right as _she_ walked out. My eyes followed her across the stage to where she stopped at the podium and started to talk.

"My name is Annie Trinket, and I am here to pick out two very lucky people." She talked in a high pitchy voice, that I knew if I had to listen to for a long time I would want to strangle her. I stood there and just looked at her, I knew that everyone in the square was just looking at her. It was deathly silent, and I wanted to smile, we where all standing together in this one moment.

"These two people will have the chance to participate in the Hunger Games! The Hunger Games will pit the other Districts against each other. Two tributes from each District will be chosen to fight for you, but,'' at this Annie Trinket pauses and looks at each of us, "But, there can only be one winner."

I knew that the Capitol wanted to get back at all of us for our parts in the rebellion but I didn't think that it would be like this, in my mind they took care of everything behind closed doors. I just thought that they were going to take the two kids and kill them in an "accident" that everyone knew that they caused.

I didn't think that they where going to make the kids fight against other kids, making them kill other people. Making them the killers in a sick and twisted way, sending a message straight to the people on Panama through there kids. It was sick and twisted.

And it was going to send a perfect message.

You mess with us, and we come at you hard.

We are going to kill _your_ children.

I wanted to yell and scream at the injustice that we were going to have to go through. The children where going to pay dearly for the parents and the Districts mistakes in the war.

Annie looked at the crowd of people as I thought mean things about her, about the Capitol and about the War.

"May the odds be ever in your favor!" she yelled that into the microphone and clapped her hands together; it snapped me out of my thoughts, out of my mind.

She walked over to the first globe that was filled with paper, "Ladies first, of course." She smiled as she reached in side of the globe and started to fish around for a piece of paper. You could hear a pin drop in the silent square. Everyone of us tensed up as we waited for her to grab a piece of paper. When she did, we all leaned closer to the stage, waiting.

"ALANNA SPARK!" came the yelled announcement, I looked over towards the girls and I watched as everyone took a step away from the blond girl that I had watched talking. They stepped away from her as fast as they could; she was something that they didn't want to be near. And that had my anger rising up.

How dare they? She was one of them. She was someone's child too, she was part of them, and they where ready to leave her in the time that she needed at least one person to stand next to her. I watched her face closely, she seemed about to break into a thousand tiny pieces. And at the same time she was, radiating beauty. Her lower lip trembled as one of the other girl pushed her gently towards the stage.

She held her head high, and I swear. That's when it happened. That's when I fell for this person that I didn't know, she held her head high as she started to walk towards the stage.

"ALANNA!" a boy behind me screamed her name and he started to go forward, and that's when the Peacekeepers started to walk towards all of us. I turned and grabbed his shoulders before he could push past me.

"Do you think that's going to help her? Do be stupid. Stop and think for a second." I held him tight as I whispered into his ear as fast as I could, "Your not going to help her by getting killed. Think." I didn't let him go in till two other boys grabbed his arms and held him back. He was the joker.

"That's my little sister." Came the soft, horror and pain filled admission.

I turned my back on him, let the other boys take care of him, as I stared at the stage. I watched as Annie walked over to our globe and start to fish around.

Than I looked over at the girl, Alanna, she was silently crying as she looked out and beyond. I wanted to know what she was thinking about, but at the same time I really didn't want to. She needed to keep something to herself, because I had a feeling that the Games where going to take every thing from her.

My eyes traveled back to where Annie was at and I realized that she was standing at the podium, with a small piece of paper in her hands. She unfolded it and smiled.

"EASTON CARTER!" my heart jumped out of my chest at that moment. That was my name she had just called. _Mine_.

I know knew what Alanna was thinking, or at least pretty close to it. I walked through the crowd of boys and up onto the stage. My heart beating wildly. I knew.

My name is Easton Carter, and I am seventeen years old. Today was the day that singed my death.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

{This is going to be another chapter told from Easton's point of view.}

They lead us to rooms that where in the Justice building. They said this was where we got to say good bye to family members and friends. I wanted to laugh, my mother was dead and my father, wouldn't want to see me anyway. Even if he knew that I wasn't going to come back.

I walked in to the room and I saw a mirror propped up against a wall. I walked over to it and started to study my reflection. People said that I was handsome, but I couldn't see it.

I had green eyes, tan skin, I was taller than a lot of other guys and I had muscle. My hair is dark, choppy and short and they called me handsome. I looked at myself and started to think about the girl, would she be the one to kill me? Or would someone else?

Would she be the one to win? Or would I? I placed my hands on the dresser and thought about it. She looked strong; she looked like she was going to fight and try to get out of there alive. That's what it looked like, but looks could be deceiving. I closed my eyes tightly and when I opened them again. Someone was standing in my room.

It was the brother, the joker.

I hadn't even heard him open the door, or walk into the room. He was still holding the door so that it wouldn't make any sound when he closed it.

I turned away from the mirror and watched him. We each looked at each other, waiting for the other to make the move. He spoke first, as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Nathan," he held out his hand and I took it quickly.

"Well, you know who I am." I mumbled as I dropped his hand quickly and went back to looking at him.

"I need your help." He whispered in a broken voice, "You have to protect her. She already thinks that she isn't going to come home. Just…please, keep her safe. Let her come home." His eyes dropped to the ground as he asked for me help in keeping her safe. I looked at him shocked; she didn't think that she was going to come home? She had already given up the fight. I watched him as I tensed up and thought about what I could do. I could say no, and have to watch her die. Or I could say yes and try and keep her alive for as long as possible.

But if she didn't want to be kept alive, than I didn't see a reason to try and help her. Even though, I knew that if I had to watch her die, which would kill me to. I didn't know her, but I knew that I was going to be doing everything in my power to keep her safe. No matter what.

"Yes. I'll keep her safe." I heard myself as though I was a third party in this conversation, he looked up at me, thankful, and than he turned and walked out. I looked at the door as it swung shut, and than back open. This time the Mayor walked into my room.

I must be special. To have the Mayor and someone else come in and visit me before my unfortunate doom, I was really special.

"Here, I wanted you and the girl to have something to remember us by." He spoke gruffly as he held out a pair of dog tags, which had my name engraved on them, my birthday, and something else.

"Thanks. How, was she? Alanna?" I asked as I took the dog tags into my hands, and for the first time I had said her name out loud. It was rather weird, I was only a grade or two ahead of her, but I had never seen her before, hadn't heard her name in till today.

"As good as anyone could be in this situation. I hope that you can make it through this in one piece." He shook my hand and than fled the room before anything else could be said.

I turned away from the door and looked down at the tags in my hands. The other thing that was engraved on the tags said, "_Hope is eternal, and love is forever_." I shrugged as I slipped them over my head and underneath my shirt. I heard the Peacekeepers walk into the room, and I smiled.

It was time to face the music. I turned and walked out of the room, already knowing that's what they wanted from me.

As I walked out I saw Alanna, our eyes meet for a brief second and that's when it hit me.

The last days of my live where going to be _very_ hard.

It wasn't going to be easy keeping her alive.

It was going to be a challenge.

I looked forward to it.


End file.
